The present invention relates to modular wall systems and more particularly to modular wall systems intended to house electronics and/or other components that generate heat.
A wide variety of modular wall furniture systems are available on the market. Conventional modular wall systems include modular cabinets, shelves and other components that can be assembled in a variety of alternative arrangements on a series of wall brackets or similar mounting structures. One existing modular wall systems includes horizontal rails and vertical brackets. The horizontal rails are secured to an existing wall, for example, by fasteners extending through horizontal brackets into the wall studs. The vertical brackets are mounted to the horizontal rails, for example, the vertical brackets may fit over mounting contours in the horizontal rails. The cabinets, shelving and other components are mounted to the vertical brackets. To facilitate assembly, the cabinets, shelving and other components include mounting features that are interfitted with corresponding mounting features in the vertical rackets. The mounting features may be configured so that the cabinets, shelving and other components may be easily attached to the vertical brackets at a variety of different heights. For example, the vertical brackets may include a plurality of mounting slots and the cabinets, shelving and other components may include hooks that are fitted into the slots as desired.
It is often desirable to house electronics or other heat-generating components in the cabinetry of a modular wall system. For example, in a hospital environment, it is not uncommon to house computers, routers, medical diagnostic equipment and other expensive medical electronics in modular wall systems. With conventional modular wall systems, this can present significant problems associated with heating. More specifically, conventional modular wall systems retain heat and, in applications in which the electronics or other components generate significant heat, there is a possibility that the components will heat to the point where performance is affected or damage to components occurs.
Efforts have been made to provide ventilation in cabinets intended for use in housing electronics. In some applications, the cabinets are provided with doors that are vented. Although door vents allow some air movement and therefore provide some cooling, they are not alone sufficient to provide proper ventilation in many applications. In other applications, electronics and other heat-generating components are housed in cabinets that do not contain doors. This provides improved ventilation, but creates other problems. For example, security issues arise when expensive equipment is not housed in a locked cabinet. Unauthorized personal may view confidential information displayed on the equipment, may tinker with accessible controls on the equipment or even steal the equipment. As another example, aesthetic issues arise when a cabinet does not include doors that could be closed to hide a collection of wires, manuals and component accessories.